Bitcoin double-spend noticed within the wild

BitMEX Analysis has recognized a suspected double-spend transaction valued at 0.00062063 BTC or roughly $21 — and it doesn’t seem like an occasion of that in style replace-by-fee pockets hack.

On Jan. 20, BitMEX’s ForkMonitor famous that “a number of blocks have been produced at top 666833.” BitMEX Analysis tweeted:

[1/2] There was a stale Bitcoin block at the moment, at top 666,833. SlushPool has overwhelmed F2Pool in a race.

It seems as if a small double spend of round 0.00062063 BTC ($21) was detectedhttps://t.co/o8lz9xagYG pic.twitter.com/IEdPu8JEjt

— BitMEX Analysis (@BitMEXResearch) January 20, 2021

One hour later, BitMEX Analysis attributed the orphaned block to an RBF transaction, which is the place an unconfirmed transaction is changed with a brand new switch paying the next charge. Nevertheless, ForkMonitor has since up to date its recommendation to say: “No (RBF) bumps have been detected.”

Twitter-user and BSV’s Australian advocate Eli Afram famous the “blended messages” from BitMEX Analysis, asserting the double-spent transaction must be trigger for concern regardless of its small worth:

“So it seems an precise Double-Spend has occurred on BTC… Not an RBF (replace-by-fee), however an precise double spend. A mere 22USD… however – this might have been 22million.”

Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin Whitepaper is credited with having solved the double-spend drawback in 2009. The problem of making certain {that a} decentralized community can autonomously confirm that the identical cash haven’t been transferred greater than as soon as had stymied earlier makes an attempt at digital money. 

In July, crypto safety agency ZenGo recognized a double-spend exploit concentrating on a number of in style Bitcoin wallets. Whereas the pockets producers moved to handle the exploit, Bitcoin Money proponent Hayden Otto warned the vulnerability could also be inherent to BTC’s replace-by-fee performance. He’d earlier exploited the identical vulnerability in a viral video.